The Baptism of Jesus pt 1

The Baptism of Jesus

Mark 1:9-11

13/04/08

From 1890 came this incident: A noted wild beast tamer gave a superb performance in London. As a closing act, he introduced a boa constrictor, 35 feet long, which he handled for 25 years when it was still two or three years old, and supposed it to be harmless.

The curtain rose on an Indian woodland scene. A rustling noise is heard and a huge serpent is seen winding its way through the undergrowth. It stops. Its head is erect. Its bright eyes sparkle. Its whole body seems animated. A man emerged from the heavy foliage. Their eyes meet. The serpent quails before the man. Man is victor.

Under the man’s signals and guidance, the serpent performs a series of frightening feats. At another signal, it slowly approaches the man and begins to coil its heavy foils around him. Higher and higher they rise, until man and serpent seem blended into one. Its hideous head is reared above the man.

The man gives a little scream and the audience unites in a thunderous applause, but it freezes upon their lips. The trainer’s scream was a wail of death agony. Those cold, slimy folds had embraced him for the last time. They had crushed the life out of him. The horror stricken audience heard bone after bone cracked. Man’s plaything had become his master.

That guy was a little too comfortable being wrapped up by a snake, but by the time he realised he had a problem it was too late. That reminds me of how a lot of people view sin. They are comfortable with it. They even enjoy it sometimes. They think they are in control of it, but let me tell you…

You are either dead in sin, or dead to sin!

Romans 3:23 reminds us that the wages of sin is death. It doesn’t say the likely result of sin is death. It doesn’t say that sin frequently leads to death. The wages of sin IS death. If sin is a part of your life then death will be the result. So you are either dead in sin, or else you are dead to sin.

If you are an honest person though you will understand that no matter how hard you try, you still sin. You still do things that you should not do – things that fall short of God’s standards, His character, His plan for your life. You will know that as attractive as sin seems at the time that it always leads to painful consequences in your life, yet you still do what you shouldn’t and fail to do what you should. You will know that when you stand before a righteous God that He will have every reason to condemn you for the sin that has marked your life.

Is there any remedy for sin? Is there any way to defeat this snake that constricts us and squeezes the life right out of us?

We are journeying through the book of Mark together, and last week we looked at John’s baptism that is described in the first part of chapter 1. We discovered there that there were baptisms taking place where people would confess their sins and commit to turn their lives around – what we call repentance. God in response would forgive people’s sins and cleanse them – helping them to live free from the defilement of sin. I want you to understand that the forgiveness and cleansing that those people experienced was not yet complete, because something still needed to be done in order to break the power of sin and remove the consequences of sin – which is death.

What happens next in the story explains what must happen. I’m predicting though that many of you here today will be quite surprised when you discover what this next part of the story has to say about that.

Pray

Read: Mark 1:9 & 10

Why did Jesus need to be baptised?

John’s Baptism involved confession and repentance – that’s what it was for. Jesus didn’t need to confess anything or to repent from anything, so why be baptised?

John himself asked that question. In Matthew chapter 3:13-15 we read:

^13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ^14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

^15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

John said “Hey, I know that I am a sinner – I need to confess and repent; I need forgiveness and cleansing from sin. But you? You don’t need that at all! Why are you coming to me to be baptised, when it’s me who should go to you?”

Jesus answers in effect “You won’t understand this now, so just do as I ask. But know that this is an appropriate thin for us to do in order to fulfil all righteousness”.

So what makes baptism appropriate for Jesus as part of fulfilling all righteousness?

1) It confirmed the ministry of John
Jesus placed His seal of approval on John’s ministry by participating in baptism Himself. People would see that and know from His example that Jesus was in total agreement with John’s message and ministry. It would reaffirm for others that they needed to confess, repent and be baptised as a public declaration of that decision.

2) It announced the beginning of Jesus’ priestly ministry
We talked a little bit last week about how important ceremonial washing was for priests in their ministry. Jesus is about to begin His priestly ministry, and in doing so submits Himself to an appropriate ritual.

3) It set an example for future believers
Jesus wanted baptism to not just remain an Jewish ritual, but a Christian one. He therefore sets an example for His followers throughout the ages. This leads us to…

4) Jesus was pointing forward to His death and resurrection as the victory over sin and death
In baptism today we look back to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Based on passages like Romans chapter 6, we understand Christian baptism to still be a baptism of repentance as it was in John’s time, but also a baptism of faith in Jesus. Let me explain…

John’s baptism was a public confession of sin and declaration to change. So is Christian baptism. Christian baptism adds a whole new layer of meaning to that because we now understand what Christ was pointing toward when He was baptised in the Jordan river.

We understand that Jesus died for our sins, and by being immersed in the waters of baptism we are stating publicly that belief. By faith we know that Jesus rose again to new life, and our rising out of the water is a sign of that new life. Our baptism shows that Jesus has died for our sins and given us eternal life with God. It is also our pledge that we have died to sin, and have committed ourselves to live a new life which is dedicated to God. This is neatly summed up in 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 which says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ^18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ”

Today I’d like to show you just a couple of examples of just how incredible God’s plan is. I want you to see how from before the world began God had a plan of redemption. Just as Jesus’ baptism points forward to His death and resurrection, God had already provided some other signs of the same wonderful truth.

Ephesians 1:3&4 says:

^3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ^4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

God chose to love you, to forgive you and cleanse you from sin before sin had even entered our world. God chose to bless you with every spiritual blessing, knowing everything that you would do that should disqualify you from receiving them. Today as we see some of the incredible scope of God’s plan I hope that like Paul, you will stand back in wonder and say “Praise God”!

I want to show you just two examples from the Old Testament of how God’s people could be cleansed from things that had defiled them. Both of these methods involved the use of cleansing water.

Leviticus 14:1-7

14 The Lord said to Moses, ^2 “These are the regulations for the diseased person at the time of his ceremonial cleansing, when he is brought to the priest: ^3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine him. If the person has been healed of his infectious skin disease, ^4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. ^5 Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. ^6 He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. ^7 Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the infectious disease and pronounce him clean. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields.

Basic Process:

• This person has been tainted by his or her disease, and needs to be made right with God and restored to fellowship with the community of believers. Here’s how that happens…
• Take 2 clean birds – clean, pure, undefiled.
• Kill one of those birds over fresh water – remember fresh water is a symbol of God’s cleansing
• So the blood and water would mix. Blood is a symbol of atonement for sin. Remember that the wages of sin is death – blood symbolises the price for sin being paid. So we have atonement and therefore forgiveness, and cleansing. Sound familiar?
• The live bird, together with the other items, is then dipped in this mixture, and the person is sprinkled 7 times. Why 7? It is the number of completion. That’s an interesting study for another time, but for today it’s enough to know that sprinkling 7 times is a way of proclaiming the cleansing complete.
• The live bird is then released – it has been immersed in death yet lives on. It becomes a symbol of renewed life for the cleansed person.

This is a weird ritual right? Why did God do such weird things and make such strange rules back then? Because He had a plan, and when that plan reached it’s climax He wanted it to become very clear just what that plan was. The Old Testament is full of imagery that points forward to Jesus. God the Father was already testifying about His Son long before Jesus was baptised in the Jordan.

Jesus fulfilled the role of both of those birds. What those birds achieved symbolically He achieved in reality. He atoned for our sin so we could be forgiven. He cleansed us from sin so we could live in renewed fellowship with God and one another.

I want to read you another example of a cleansing ritual. This one is far more wide-reaching than the one we’ve just looked at, which mainly focussed on restoration from defilement from skin disease.

Numbers 19

19 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ^2 “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke. ^3 Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. ^4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting. ^5 While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and offal. ^6 The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer. ^7 After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. ^8 The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.

^9 “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They shall be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin. ^

^

…. (information on some of the things that make people ceremonially unclean – namely any sort of contact with a dead person)…

^17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them. ^18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or someone who has been killed or someone who has died a natural death. ^19 The man who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify him. The person being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and that evening he will be clean. ^20 But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he must be cut off from the community, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on him, and he is unclean. ^21 This is a lasting ordinance for them.

This is a very important ritual. Of course people were going to come into contact with a dead person at some stage – even having someone die in your tent or house, or entering the dwelling where someone died was enough to make you unclean. You were not allowed to worship at the Tabernacle (later on at the Temple) if you had not been made clean in the manner described here.

So you can imagine how important it was for the nation of Israel to have a good breeding stock of red heifers! How many unblemished and unworked red heifers do you think would have been killed over the years in order to make the special waters of purification?

From the time this command was given until the Temple was destroyed in AD 70, there was roughly 1500 years that this ritual was required to be practised. I reckon at a bare minimum they would have needed 3 of those perfect red heifers each year, since there were 3 major occasions that Jews from everywhere would descend on Jerusalem and the Temple. There would have been many thousands of people each time who would have required purification after some contact with dead bodies or places where people had died. This would require at least 4,500 of those perfect red heifers! Of course, ideally people would have been purified straight away, which would mean that there would need to be supplies of red heifer ashes all around the country. Who knows how many hundreds of thousands of animals would be required for that!

What’s my point?

Do you know that Jewish Rabbi’s have kept a rough log of how many unblemished, unworked red heifers were used in this ceremony. Do you know how many there were in total?

Nine.

Nine unblemished red heifers in 1500 years. That is nowhere near enough for what was needed.

An unblemished red heifer is in fact very difficult to come across. It cannot have a single hair of any other colour but red. The hairs across it’s shoulders must be straight, to show that it has never borne a yolk.

In fact, there are groups today who have committed considerable resources in trying to breed just such an animal. There are groups who are committed to restoring Temple worship in Jerusalem, and they believe that this sacrifice of an unblemished red heifer will be essential to prepare the Temple site – which has itself been defiled by thousands of deaths – as well as those who will seek to worship there. This quest has been going on for decades, but has not yet resulted in a single acceptable beast. There was a lot of excitement in 1997 when one animal was found, but then it grew some different coloured hairs. The same thing happened in 2002.

What’s the point?

The red heifer sacrifice is what is known in Judaism as a chok – a biblical law which must be from God, because there is no way that it makes sense to us humans! It’s impossible to live up to.

I reckon that’s great! 1500 years before Christ’s death and resurrection, God was already demonstrating that it was beyond our ability to meet His requirements. Through Moses He gave His people a task which they could not complete, in order that when the time was right He would complete the task Himself.

Hebrews 9:13-14

^13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ^14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Remember the story of the snake? Sin leads to death. The message of baptism is that Jesus died for our sins, and He rose to life again. He is the one who makes us clean in God’s sight. It’s the same message contained in the rituals of the two birds and the red heifer that were commanded by God some 1500 years before Christ would eventually fulfil that meaning. Those aren’t the only 2 rituals that contain that message either, we could list example after example.

Have you accepted forgiveness and cleansing from sin through Jesus Christ? Have you been baptised as a public declaration of that belief, and a commitment to leave sin behind and live for Christ day by day? If you have done these things, are you living up to that commitment through the grace of God and through your own self-discipline?

Sin is serious. It required a serious and wonderful remedy that was incredibly costly and precious. It required the blood of Jesus. Now the choice is yours – You are either dead in sin or dead to sin.

---

^a Traditionally leprosy; the Hebrew word was used for various diseases affecting the skin—not necessarily leprosy; also elsewhere in this chapter.

Big Changes in the Birch House!

Well it's been quite a while since my last post! The plan is to get back into doing a bit of writing again for our local paper as well as for the blog, but that is for the future. The big news for us is the birth of our son, Josiah Paul Birch! Older siblings Tim and Alyssa reckon that he's fantastic, and Carolyn and I agree!

He came in at 9lb 1oz, (4.12kg for those who have entered the modern era!) and 51cm long.

If you'd like to see some photo's, check out http://www.birchfamily.org!

Back to the whole blogging / article writing thing, there's been lots of things bubbling away that I might get the chance to put down on paper (and the web) fairly soon. Take care till then!

The Story of Joseph pt 6 - Reconciliation

The Story of Joseph pt 6

Reconciliation

Genesis 41:50 – 52

Introduction

How do you recover from the hurts that break relationships? Most of us have experienced the pain of relationships that have been broken for all sorts of reasons. Usually there is some hurt that lies behind broken relationship. How do we mend broken relationships? The Bible contains valuable teaching on the subject, and the story of Joseph is a picture of how it has worked in the life of one family who had some very serious barriers to relationship. What can we learn from their journey of reconciliation?

Story - Genesis 41:50 – 52

Before we learn about the reconciliation between Joseph and his family, we need to know a little more about the state of Joseph’s heart toward them. We know that Joseph is a young man of great integrity of character, but he was also terribly hurt by his brothers. What is his attitude toward them now?

The names of his sons give us a pretty good idea…

The firstborn son was Manasseh – a name that sounds like the Hebrew word for “forget” – and Joseph explains “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”

Did God grant Joseph a poor memory, or did God grant Joseph the ability to choose to not hold on to remembrance of past hurts? Joseph had a lot of pain to get over – his near murder, being sold into slavery, the pain of forced separation from loving parents, the pain of false accusation and imprisonment, and probably a whole lot of others besides. However God had freed Joseph from being controlled by these painful memories.

If we are going to be whole as people – before we even get to the stage of reconciliation with those who have hurt us – we need to move beyond the control of our hurts.

Joseph’s second son was Ephraim – which sounds like the Hebrew term for “twice fruitful”. Joseph again gives its meaning, saying “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

Joseph goes even further than not being controlled by hurt – seeing himself as a victim of people and of circumstances – to recognising the blessing that God has poured out on him despite the suffering his journey has entailed. I know of many people who have experienced triumph over adversity – people who have overcome very difficult obstacles in their lives to achieve what our society terms “success”. Sadly, many of these people are still warped by their experiences. Joseph might have determined in his heart to never trust anyone, because of the way people had let him down time after time. He might have become arrogant and self-reliant.

Instead, he realises that God has had His hand on Joseph’s life. Instead of being proud and defiant, he is grateful, and is able to acknowledge the sovereignty and goodness of God through times of suffering and times of blessing.

These sorts of attitudes are the norm for God’s people - I am not a victim, I am a child of God!

Romans 8:28-39

If you are a Christian, God has held your life in his hand from before the moment you were born. From a human point of view, we often talk about a moment of salvation or a process of salvation. God does not see things from that point of view, there is just saved and unsaved, regardless of the moment in time when we came to faith. God knew you were a Christian long before you ever did!

When we learn to see things from God’s point of view we stop seeing ourselves as victims with just cause to hold on to hurts and resentments. If God has always held your life in His hand, then nothing anyone has ever done has been able to separate you from God’s love for you. Nothing has ever been able to thwart God’s good purpose for your life. You are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus! All that has ever happened to you has happened because God has allowed it to.

That’s a seriously difficult concept to get our heads around! God allows these things to happen for the purpose of His glory, for the sake of His love for you and His plan for your life.

How does that work?

Every attack that Satan carries out against you God turns into His victory. You might say “I’d rather just be spared from the attack thankyou”! What if Jesus had said that? Are you a follower of Christ, then follow His example.

Some of us live as though Christ was still in the grave. We suffer the attack of Satan through family, friends and even fellow Christians who have followed the pattern of this world instead of the pattern of Christ. Then we stay in our woundedness. We hold on to the pain and the grudges. We need to rise again to new life! Christ’s resurrection body was made possible because his physical body was crucified. The road to glorification is paved with suffering! Sometimes that is the suffering that we choose as part of our discipleship, sometimes that is the suffering that is inflicted on us from outside. God uses those attacks to refine us and build us, even though Satan intended them to hurt and hinder us. You must decide whose work you will participate in.

Romans 8:30 says:

And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

God’s plan for Joseph was a glorious one, but one that involved suffering. The same is true for you.

You can choose to hold on to resentment toward those who have inflicted that suffering on you. You can choose to use your suffering to excuse all sorts of things. You can expect to be indulged because of your suffering. Others don’t know how hard it’s been for you.

Doing these things will just cause you to live trapped in your suffering. You will never be free. You will never be victorious.

Choose to see yourself as God sees you – you are not a victim, you are victorious in Jesus.

Choose to see God as He is – He is not absent or weak or cruel, He is glorious and He has a glorious plan for you.

Choose to see your suffering for what it is – It hurts, but it is not powerful enough to control you or destroy you. It is just powerful enough to help you grow and to help you discover God’s plan for your life.

Reflection Time and Prayer

What I’m going to do might seem a little foreign to some of you, but for some of you will be very important.

We’re going to bow in a time of guided reflection and prayer – I’ll ask each of you to close your eyes and bow your heads.

In a few moments I am going to pray on all of our behalf, but before I do I want you to bring to mind the people who have significantly hurt you. Ask God to reveal to you the ones that He wants to talk to you about today. Picture their faces in your mind, I want you to be very aware of them as we pray.

Lord, we confess that we have at times been controlled by the things we have experienced in life – especially the painful things.

We confess that we have at times borne grudges against those who we have felt hurt by.

We confess that we have at times treated them and others badly because of how we have responded to these hurts.

We confess that we have given Satan a foothold in our lives as we have held on to our hurts and our anger.

We confess that at times we have not acknowledged Your sovereign power and Your care for us.

Help us Lord to know in the depths of our being the truth of Your Word that teaches us that we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ.

Help us to forgive those who sin against us, just as You have forgiven us.

Help us to see these people with fresh eyes, looking through the lens of grace instead of the broken glasses of judgement. Help us to remember that love keeps no record of wrongs.

Give us the faith to know that you bring victory from the jaws of defeat. Give us the wisdom to listen to Your voice leading us on the path of abundant life.

These things we pray so that Christ might be glorified in us by our obedience and by the fruits of a transformed life. We pray that in us people might see the power of Jesus to change lives, and they may come to Him for eternal life.

Amen.

Article - Helping Men with Depression

Helping Men with Depression

The Victorian government’s Better Health Channel has the following information about Male Depression on their Men’s Health factsheet:

One out of every six Australian men suffers from depression at any given time. Statistics indicate:

· Teenagers and the elderly are particularly at risk.

· Male depression is associated with an increased risk of health disorders, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

· Life issues - such as the death of a spouse, separation, divorce and unemployment - trigger serious depression in men more often than in women.

· Men are likely to resort to destructive behaviours in an attempt to deal with depression.

· Depressed men are twice as likely as depressed women to abuse alcohol and drugs.

· The suicide rate for males aged between 15 and 24 years has tripled in the past three decades.

According to Beyond Blue, the agency supported by Australia’s Federal and State governments to address issues associated with depression, anxiety and related substance misuse disorders in Australia:

• In 2004, 1,661 males (16.8 per 100,000) and 437 females (4.3 per 100,000) died by suicide - a total of 2,098 deaths (10.4 per 100,000).
• Australia's young (15-24) male suicide rate is fourth highest among Western Countries.
• Rates for men aged 30-34 years are currently the highest for all male age groups, followed by men aged 40-44 years.

Looking for Signs

Men usually experience depression differently to the way women do. The vast majority of men do not show obvious signs of depression, or indicate any need to talk over whatever issues may be weighing on their minds. Some of the more obvious signs of depression include:

• fatigue
• difficulty sleeping
• changed eating habits
• frequent/constant gloomy disposition
• expressing feelings of guilt and/or worthlessness
• don’t find pleasure in things they normally would

There are other things that men do to try and escape from feelings of depression or cover them up. These may include:

• withdrawal from family and friends
• Self-medication with excessive alcohol or drugs
• Womanising
• Watching more TV than usual
• Preoccupation with sport, greater competitiveness
• Lashing out verbally and/or physically
• Demanding respect or consideration
• Seeming restless and agitated

Hmm, watching too much TV and being obsessed with sport – that covers a fair number of us! Remember though that what you are looking for are changes that might indicated that there is something deeper going on inside.

What can I do if I am depressed?

If you are feeling depressed, the best advice I can give is for you to go to the right places to get help. Feeling depressed is a very common and very treatable condition, but you need to take the initiative to do something about it. I suggest that you go straight to professionals who have the best information and resources to help. These include the local medical services, Central Agcare, Men’s Helpline, Lifeline and so on.

Talking to someone is essential, but you can also get a whole stack of good information online, at sites like http://www.beyondblue.org.au for example.

What can I do to help someone who may be depressed?

Check out the information and resources mentioned above to help yourself to be prepared. The best thing you can do is give someone the encouragement and support to access the help they need. Sometimes that requires some bluntness, too! Don’t be afraid to let a depressed person know the impact their depression has on your relationship, but do this in a supportive way which encourages action, not as a guilt trip that just makes them feel worse.

There’s a whole stack of other things that you can do to help:

• Be available to listen. Most men don’t like being pressured into talking about stuff, but it is important to provide opportunities for men to share how they feel and to know that you are OK with that – that they haven’t let you down or disappointed you by being human!
• Be understanding. Whatever you do, don’t tell someone to “snap out of it” or “just get on with life”. That’s not helpful, caring or even possible for someone with depression to achieve.
• Look for things to do that will bring some joy and satisfaction into their life. Often depression comes about not because of a single major issue, but after a series of events and other factors which all pile up. If you can accumulate and focus on positive things in your life, not only can you help prevent depression but you can also help people to gain some positive momentum to pull out of it. Some things that can be helpful include hobbies, holidays, visits with loved ones, participation in positive groups such as churches, sporting groups or just gatherings with friends. Don’t try to do too much however, as this will just make the person feel pressured.
• Give reassurance. Depression can kill off a sense of hope and optimism. Sufferers need to be reassured that they will pull through.
• Be positive. Instead of always agreeing with negative things, try to turn these toward the positive. Be realistic, but also hopeful.
• Be calm. Men with depression will often try to create conflict. Remind yourself that this is a symptom, and don’t buy into it. Be assertive but not aggressive.
• Look for ways to spend time together. Men who are depressed often push others away or withdraw from others. Give them some space, but don’t be too easily put off – they need to know that you want to be around them.
• Look after yourself. Supporting someone through a difficult time takes its toll, so be wise enough to make sure that you are getting the support that you need, too.

Useful Contact Info

Check out the back page of the Fencepost for contact information for local medical and counselling services.

You might also like to make use of services such as:

· beyondblue info line (National) - 1300 22 4636

· Mensline Australia (National) - 1300 789 978

· Lifeline (National) - 13 11 14

· “Just Ask” Rural Mental Health Information & Referral Line (National) - 1300 13 11 14

· Kids Helpline (National) - 1800 551 800.

And Finally…

If you would like to talk to me about this subject or any other life issues, feel free to contact me!

Mike Birch

Pastor, Narembeen Church of Christ

Ph: 90647210 E: churchofchrist@narembeen.com

Sermon - The Story of Joseph Pt 4

The Story of Joseph pt 4

Genesis 41:1a

21/10/07

Would God still be good…?

I’ve been really looking forward to getting to this part of the story. It’s been a bleak road for Joseph to travel. He’s been hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, lied about, thrown in prison, then he has an opportunity to get a message about his innocence to the pharaoh, only to have the messenger completely forget about him for 2 years.

We take up the story in Genesis 41:1 – “Two years later the king dreamed…”

There’s been a lot of great stuff that we have learned about God already in this story. There’s been some really valuable things we’ve learned from Joseph about how to live with integrity and hope even in the worst circumstances, how to minister to others despite your own hardships and so on; but this is the part of the story that we’ve been anxious to get to. This is the part where the lights go on and we find out why God has allowed all of this stuff to occur. This is the part where we get inspired about the possibilities for happy endings to our own difficult circumstances, because we know how this story ends. God sends Pharaoh a dream that only Joseph can interpret. The cupbearer remembers the young Hebrew from prison and tells Pharaoh about him. Joseph is brought out, cleaned up and has an audience with the king of Egypt. He not only tells Pharaoh the meaning of his dream, but gives him some very good advice about what to do about it. Pharaoh is so impressed that he promotes Joseph to second-in-charge of the whole kingdom. This leads to safety and prosperity for Egypt, and ultimately to the reconciliation of Joseph with his family and the preservation of his family through perilous times. This story becomes a foreshadowing of the story of Jesus. Joseph, rejected by his brothers, was the one that God used to save them.

There are some wonderfully uplifting truths that we learn in the conclusion to the story of Joseph.

But before we go there, I need to ask a question…

Would this still be a good story if it ended with Joseph spending the rest of his days in prison? Would God still be good if he didn’t deliver Joseph from those awful circumstances?

You see sometimes we are tempted to worship the God of happy endings. We want a God who will eventually rewards us with promotions, possessions, popularity, prestige or whatever else it is that our hearts desire.

Why did Joseph continue to serve God with integrity? Was it because he believed that God would finally reward his faithfulness and rescue him from prison, perhaps even making it possible for Joseph to return home to his family? Joseph certainly hoped for something like this, but I don’t believe that is why he worshiped God. I think Joseph worshiped God because he knew that God is worthy of worship.

Hebrews 11:32 - 38

³² Well, how much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. ³³ By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. ³⁵ Women received their loved ones back again from death.

But others trusted God and were tortured, preferring to die rather than turn from God and be free. They placed their hope in the resurrection to a better life. ³⁶ Some were mocked, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in dungeons. ³⁷ Some died by stoning, and some were sawed in half; others were killed with the sword. Some went about in skins of sheep and goats, hungry and oppressed and mistreated. ³⁸ They were too good for this world. They wandered over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground

Here is something that many of us struggle to get our heads around: God is good to the women who received their loved ones back again from death, and He is good to the mothers and children who died in the Arenas of Rome. God is good to the ones who overthrew kingdoms, and He is good to the ones who died in the prisons and work camps of evil governments. God is good to the ones who escaped death by the edge of the sword, and He is good to the those who felt that sword pierce their bodies.

God is good because He is good, not because of what He does or doesn’t do in your circumstances or mine. God deserves our worship because He is God, not because of what we want to receive from Him.

Matthew 6:33

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Who was ever told as a kid that they had to eat all of their vegetables or they wouldn’t get any dessert?

I think that is the way that some people approach this verse! You’ve got to seek first God’s and His righteousness, and if you do that, you’ll get the things that you really want. So go to church and bible study and try to do the right thing, and if you can stick at that God will give you everything you need to be happy.

I’ve got news for people who think like that – God’s kingdom and His righteousness is the dessert!

Philippians 4:12-13

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ^13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 3:7-11

^7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ^8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ^9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ^10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ^11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Paul discovered that knowing Christ and living for him is the most satisfying, rewarding, joyful way to live. Have you discovered this truth for yourself?

We are heading into an election, and so we all expect to be seeing and hearing a lot of propaganda over the next few weeks. As good as political strategists and marketing experts are, there is someone who is much more adept at getting people to swallow his line. Satan is a liar and has been from the beginning. He has been very successful at even fooling Christians into buying his products. He sells us the dreams of pleasure, of accumulation, of leisure time, of the good opinion of others, of hassle-free sex, of success or whatever else it is that we have a weak spot for.

Here’s the truth of the situation according to the Bible…

If you look for satisfaction and security in relationships, work, pleasure, possessions you will be disappointed and eventually destroyed.

If you look to God to give you satisfaction and security in relationships, work, pleasure, possessions and so on, you will be disappointed to learn that there is no guarantee that He will give you what you want. (Remember Hebrews 11?)

If you seek God, if you earnestly want to put God first in your life, if your heart’s desire is to see Him glorified in your life, then you will discover satisfaction and security in Him. You will be content to trust that God will do what is best in your relationships, work, leisure time, possessions and so on, and you will find joy and consolation in that fact. You will be concerned about those other things but not controlled by them. Like the Apostle Paul, and like Joseph in our story, you will be content no matter what your circumstances are or have been. You will disarm the power of Satan to lure you away to worship false gods.

I want you to understand how important this distinction is. Far too many Christians seem to make their worship of God conditional upon what is going on in their lives. If times are tough, they seem to believe they have a right to sulk or shake their fists at God and demand better treatment. God does not owe us anything! He has given us everything in Jesus, how dare we act as though that is not enough.

This all sounds a bit harsh, but realising the truth about this is the only way to find real happiness.

When the Apostle Paul got toward the end of his life –pretty much alone in a damp and miserable dungeon – he wrote these words to his younger friend Timothy:

2 Timothy 4:7-8

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ^8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

When God calls me home, I bet I won’t be thinking about how good I was at computer games, or even using computers for work. I won’t be thinking about body-surfing or playing sport. I won’t be worrying about what people in town thought of me, or my reputation as a preacher and leader. I will be thinking about what Jesus has thought of my life.

I won’t find satisfaction in the fact that for a while my children thought I was the strongest and smartest man in the world. I’ll find satisfaction in whatever I’ve done to point them to Jesus. I won’t care who made fun of me or attacked me if by doing so they gave me an opportunity to glorify Jesus and share in His sufferings.

Now I begin to be a disciple, and have no desire after anything visible or invisible, that I may attain to Jesus Christ. Let fire and the cross; let the crowds of wild beasts; let breakings, tearings, and separations of bones; let cutting off of members; let bruising to pieces of the whole body; and let the very torment of the devil come upon me: only let me attain to Jesus Christ …

All the pleasures of the world, and all the kingdoms of this earth, shall profit me nothing. It is better for me to die in behalf of Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the ends of the earth. "For what shall a man be profited, if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?" Him I seek, who died for us: Him I desire, who rose again for our sake. This is the gain which is laid up for me. Pardon me, brethren: do not hinder me from living, do not wish to keep me in a state of death; and while I desire to belong to God, do not ye give me over to the world. Suffer me to obtain pure light: when I have gone thither, I shall indeed be a man of God. Permit me to be an imitator of the passion of my God.

- Ignatius of Antioch (c 35 – 107AD)

Sermon - The Story of Joseph Pt 3

The Story of Joseph pt 3

Joseph in Prison

Genesis 40

Recap

We’re going through the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Last week we explored the two different reactions Joseph got from people in Egypt. He was a godly person plonked smack-bang into a godless society. Some people respected and admired him, treating him really well. Others were offended by his values and treated him badly. That’s what happens whenever you put a godly person into a godly environment. One or both of those reactions is to be expected.

I didn’t go over this too much last week, but I want you to know that the more different the person is to their environment, the greater the reaction will be either way. A person who is a little bit godly in an environment that is a little bit godless won’t stand out that much, and won’t get much of a reaction. A person who is very godly in an environment which is a little bit godless will provoke a lot more reaction, positive and negative. A very godly person in a very godless environment is really going to cause a stir! Philippians 2:15 puts it like this: You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them.

Here’s what I find exciting. I don’t know if you’ve realised it, but Australia is becoming more and more obviously godless. Our values, attitudes and behaviours are becoming more and more opposed to what you would expect from people who know God and know God’s ways.

That’s a bit scary, because most of us want to fit in and be accepted. We just want to be free to get on with doing what is right without causing much of a fuss. But God is not interested in us fitting in. God is not interested in us being anonymous. He wants us to be salt and light in a world that needs to taste and see Him through us.

So the story so far is like this: Joseph, 17 years old, youngest and favourite son in a wealthy household. His brothers hate him and conspire to sell him into slavery. He goes to Egypt and becomes a trusted and powerful servant in a wealthy household. Then he refuses to sleep with his master’s wife, so she pretends that he tried to rape her and he is thrown into the Pharaoh’s prison.

Here’s what happens next:

Story

Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended him. ² Pharaoh became very angry with these officials, ³ and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of Potiphar, the captain of the guard. ⁴ They remained in prison for quite some time, and Potiphar assigned Joseph to take care of them.

Have you ever had one of those “AHA!” moments, where you see something that you’ve never seen before? Christians should get these all the time, because God is always revealing stuff to us to help us grow and reflect Him more.

I had an “AHA!” moment preparing this sermon. Most translations don’t mention Potiphar’s name in this chapter, they just mention that the prison was in the house of the captain of the guard. Who was the captain of the guard? Potiphar!

Potiphar’s palace included a dungeon in which the most important prisoners were kept. Prisoners of royal significance. Not run of the mill criminals, these were the people who had received the personal displeasure of Pharaoh.

Isn’t it interesting that despite being turned against Joseph by his wife’s lies, Potiphar decides to keep him close by – in the royal prison in his own house – instead of doing whatever was standard practice for slaves who had broken the law (which I suspect would have been execution)?

Isn’t it interesting that Potiphar allows his wife’s alleged attempted rapist to be promoted in his jail to a position of responsibility?

Isn’t it interesting that when two senior officials get thrown in jail, Potiphar chooses to have Joseph take personal care of them? Now, remember that this was a position of trust. If either of these men were pardoned, they would return to positions where they would have influence with Pharaoh. Potiphar could not afford to have these men treated shabbily, even if they were in jail. If he did, you could be sure that there would be payback when they got out. This little paragraph shows that despite all that has happened, despite Potiphar’s loyalties and his actions, he actually still trusts Joseph. He’s made a big show of being furious and throwing Joseph in jail, but yet deep down there still seems to be a trust in Joseph and perhaps a curiosity about him.

Never think that when people seem to turn against you or when they treat you badly, that there isn’t something deeper going on inside them. Stand firm in your character and trust God – you don’t know what might end up happening. The Bible says that we should do good to those who mistreat us, and Joseph is an example of what that looks like. He is in Potiphar’s prison but he still is trustworthy and hard-working. He is a blessing to the one who has treated him unjustly.

⁵ One night the cup-bearer and the baker each had a dream, and each dream had its own meaning. ⁶ The next morning Joseph noticed the dejected look on their faces. ⁷ “Why do you look so worried today?” he asked.

Did you know that there are opportunities all around us to talk with people about what is going on in their lives? There are opportunities to shine God’s light into people’s lives if we will just pay attention to what is going on. Joseph looks and sees two men who are looking down and says “What’s wrong with you guys today, you’re looking worried?”

I want you to do something for me: Turn to the person next to you, and give them your best worried look. Take turns looking worried. Now give each other an impatient look. Now try a sad look. Now a confused look.

There’s two things that stand out to me about what Joseph does right here. Firstly,

1. He names the right emotion. I don’t know about you, but I could have easily mixed up any of those looks that you guys were giving each other a few minutes ago. Joseph had the ability to discern what they were feeling. Some people seem to be very good at doing that, but I have noticed that like most things, it is something that improves with practice. Joseph seems to be someone who pays attention to people, and how they are feeling. This is a bit different to the 17 year old “You guys will bow down to me one day” Joseph at the start of our story! (By the way, Joseph is about 28 years of age now).
2. He cares about how they are feeling. He asks them why they are looking worried. He is interested in how they feel and shows his care by inviting them to talk about it - and Joseph is a man!

Because Joseph is interested, pays attention and cares enough to ask a question, we have an opportunity for ministry.

⁸ And they replied, “We both had dreams last night, but there is no one here to tell us what they mean.”

“Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Tell me what you saw.”

⁹ The cup-bearer told his dream first. “In my dream,” he said, “I saw a vine in front of me. ¹⁰ It had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon there were clusters of ripe grapes. ¹¹ I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took the grapes and squeezed the juice into it. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

¹² “I know what the dream means,” Joseph said. “The three branches mean three days. ¹³ Within three days Pharaoh will take you out of prison and return you to your position as his chief cup-bearer. ¹⁴ And please have some pity on me when you are back in his favor. Mention me to Pharaoh, and ask him to let me out of here. ¹⁵ For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in jail, but I did nothing to deserve it.”

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that the first dream had such a good meaning, he told his dream to Joseph, too. “In my dream,” he said, “there were three baskets of pastries on my head. ¹⁷ In the top basket were all kinds of bakery goods for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them.”

¹⁸ “I’ll tell you what it means,” Joseph told him. “The three baskets mean three days. ¹⁹ Three days from now Pharaoh will cut off your head and impale your body on a pole. Then birds will come and peck away at your flesh.”

²⁰ Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he gave a banquet for all his officials and household staff. He sent for his chief cup-bearer and chief baker, and they were brought to him from the prison. ²¹ He then restored the chief cup-bearer to his former position, ²² but he sentenced the chief baker to be impaled on a pole, just as Joseph had predicted. ²³ Pharaoh’s cup-bearer, however, promptly forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.

So here we have two men who are ready to receive Joseph’s ministry. Joseph has been caring for them, has built a relationship with them. They have gotten to know his character. Now he has invited them to share what is troubling them, and they do.

What is the first thing that Joseph does? He points them to God. The literal sense of what he says is : “The meaning of dreams belongs with God”. The solution to your problem is with God. The answer to your questions is with God. Don’t look to me. Don’t look to anyone else, it is God who you need to deal with. But then he says “Tell me what you saw”. These men do not know God, they do not know how to find their answers in God. Joseph is ready to be the mediator. He will be the one who will ask God for the answer. He will be the one that God reveals the truth to, and he will share that truth with the two men.

When we did our study in 1 Peter we discovered that like Joseph, you and I have this role with people who do not yet know God. We are called a kingdom of priests, and our role is to be God’s ambassadors to the world.

Now, there are plenty of people who will tell others what they want to hear. Not many people would have problems giving the good news to the cup-bearer. Not many of us would be willing to give the bad news to the baker, and certainly not in the gorily detailed way that Joseph did! Joseph said what God put in his mind to say, and he did not water it down or change it to suit his hearers or to maintain his own popularity.

I was at Hillary’s boat harbour the other week, and I walked past a booth a number of times where you could go to get a “reading”. I caught a glimpse of some cards on a table, but regardless of the methods, there was someone in there who claimed to be able to give truth to people. You might expect to hear about your” past lives” or who you might fall in love with or what you need to do to find happiness in life, and reassurance that yes, you will find happiness and wealth as long as you do what the psychic tells you to.

Imagine if Joseph had a booth like that – he’d be out of business in a week!

People in our society have plenty of places to turn for the truth. I can just imagine a conversation like this…

“I went to see Madam Shining-Dawn on Saturday. She told me that I had been a courtesan in Venice in a previous life, which explains why I’ve always loved Italian food; and I do find the sound of lapping water very soothing. She also sold me some charms that I can wear to make men go crazy over me, and she assured me that they will bring Mr Right to my door in the near future. What did you do on the weekend?”

“I spent the weekend with my sister. She saw me checking my horoscope in the paper, and wanted to talk about it. She said that she believes it’s appointed for humans to live only once, and then to face judgment! She said that God finds my current lifestyle offensive, and has a much better plan for my life, but get this - I would need to ask for God’s forgiveness and submit to His control!”

“I hate that religious bigotry! Did you get mad at her?”

“I sure did! We had a fight about it and I left. The funny thing is though, that even though a lot of what she says just makes me mad, I sometimes wish that my life was more like hers. This stuff seems to really work for her, and sometimes I wonder if it’s better than what I’m doing.”

You can change the details of this story in millions of ways, but this is the sort of story that I want to see being played out in our community.

I want us to be people like Joseph who pay attention to those around us, care for them and are ready to minister God’s love and truth to them, whether it’s easy or not; whether it’s popular or not.

I want the people around us to see the sort of character that Potiphar and the two officials saw in Joseph. I want people to feel able to open up with us and share what it is that troubles them, confuses them, saddens them and so on; and to know that the only cure is found with God. The answers are with God.

But there’s something else we need to see in this part of Joseph’s story – sometimes the fruit of ministry is a long time in coming. We can shine God’s truth and love into people’s lives, and they can keep going as though nothing has happened. Then all of a sudden when the time is right, the lights will go on. God gave the cup-bearer the dream when he was in the right place to receive its meaning. The purpose of that dream though was not revealed until 2 years down the track, which we will find out more about next week. In the meantime the cup-bearer forgets all about Joseph, and Joseph stays in prison, perhaps wondering what God is up to and why life has turned out the way it has.

None of the ministry that this church has poured in to the lives of children, young people and adults over the years has been wasted. We haven’t always gotten it right, in fact, we have made plenty of mistakes between us over the years. But we have also shone the love and truth of God into many lives. When the time is right, it will be remembered. The seed has been sown, the foundation has been laid. In the meantime we wait, and pray, and work, and pay attention to see what new opportunities for ministry God is bringing our way.

Sermon - The Story of Joseph Pt 2

The Story of Joseph pt 2

Genesis 39

07/10/07

Genesis 39

¹ Now when Joseph arrived in Egypt with the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, a member of the personal staff of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was the captain of the palace guard.

² The Lord was with Joseph and blessed him greatly as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. ³ Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. ⁴ So Joseph naturally became quite a favorite with him. Potiphar soon put Joseph in charge of his entire household and entrusted him with all his business dealings. ⁵ From the day Joseph was put in charge, the Lord began to bless Potiphar for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs began to run smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. ⁶ So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t have a worry in the world, except to decide what he wanted to eat!

Now Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man. ⁷ And about this time, Potiphar’s wife began to desire him and invited him to sleep with her. ⁸ But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. ⁹ No one here has more authority than I do! He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I ever do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”

¹⁰ She kept putting pressure on him day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. ¹¹ One day, however, no one else was around when he was doing his work inside the house. ¹² She came and grabbed him by his shirt, demanding, “Sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but as he did, his shirt came off. She was left holding it as he ran from the house.

¹³ When she saw that she had his shirt and that he had fled, ¹⁴ she began screaming. Soon all the men around the place came running. “My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to insult us!” she sobbed. “He tried to rape me, but I screamed. ¹⁵ When he heard my loud cries, he ran and left his shirt behind with me.”

¹⁶ She kept the shirt with her, and when her husband came home that night, ¹⁷ she told him her story. “That Hebrew slave you’ve had around here tried to make a fool of me,” she said. ¹⁸ “I was saved only by my screams. He ran out, leaving his shirt behind!”

¹⁹ After hearing his wife’s story, Potiphar was furious! ²⁰ He took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held. ²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph there, too, and he granted Joseph favor with the chief jailer. ²² Before long, the jailer put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. ²³ The chief jailer had no more worries after that, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him, making everything run smoothly and successfully.

This story contains so many great teaching points. We could talk about having a right attitude toward work, how to handle temptation, how to respond to false allegations, trusting God in your circumstances and so on.

Today though I’m going to zoom in to one particular aspect of the story, and that is to look at the ways that people respond to a righteous life. Joseph was committed to living rightly – he lived as someone who knew the presence of God. You and I are also committed to living rightly. What can we learn from the way that others responded to Joseph that will help us to be prepared for the reactions we will face when we choose to live God’s way in a world which does not know God?

Potiphar – a man impressed.

At the start of our story we see that Potiphar was very impressed with Joseph. He did not worry about anything, because he trusted Joseph’s skill and integrity. He saw that God had blessed all that Joseph did, and he was happy to reap the benefits of that.

I can tell you from experience that it is huge blessing to be able to trust the integrity and ability of people who work for you. It gives great confidence, peace and freedom when you are sure of these things, as Potiphar was with Joseph.

I wonder what was going on in Potiphar’s mind because of Joseph. The Egyptians had all sorts of gods for all sorts of purposes, but in comes Joseph who worships a foreign God who claims to be God alone. The things that Joseph does seem to have the blessing of this God, in a way that none of Egypt’s gods have ever demonstrated. Potiphar shrewdly places Joseph over everything, thus bringing God’s blessing on his entire estate. I wonder though whether something was stirring in Potiphar’s heart over all this. I wonder if Joseph’s character and the blessing of God was looking very attractive to a man used to very different realities.

It reminds me of what Paul says in…

Titus 2:9&10

⁹ Slaves must obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back ¹⁰ or steal, but they must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.

Of course this doesn’t only apply to those who are slaves or those who work for someone else. Jesus said in…

Matthew 5:15-16

¹⁵ Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Genesis 39:3 tells us that Potiphar realized that God was with Joseph – is that what people see in you and I? Are people attracted to God because of your life? Do people think well of God because of the way you represent Him? Do they even thank God for you?

We should not be surprised when this happens. The Bible explains that the way we live must be different to those who do not know God. It lays out the many blessings that we have as God’s children. If these things aren’t noticeable, then there must surely be something wrong. The further our society moves away from God’s standards, the more obvious God’s children should be. That is, of course, as long as we are living by God’s standards and not the standards of our society.

The story is not all rosy for Joseph, however. It’s not too long before living to please God gets him in trouble with someone else…

Potiphar’s Wife - a lover spurned.

If you are committed to living to please God in a world which does not know God, there is going to be a collision that is bound to happen. For Joseph, that collision took place in the area of sexual ethics – is it OK to sleep with your master’s wife? For Joseph, the answer was a definite “no”, but that put him at odds with Potiphar’s wife.

Temptation comes initially with some flirtation, then prolonged nagging, and finally by literally grasping at Joseph.

Joseph deals with the initial temptation firmly but respectfully – he explains that he would consider such an act to be a betrayal of Potiphar’s trust and a sin against God. Potiphar’s wife is apparently not used to having to restrain her own desires, or to being rejected; and so she continues to pursue Joseph. After finally discovering that she cannot have him, her desire turns to hatred and she punishes him in the most cruel way.

Does this sort of thing ever happen in our experience? You bet it does!

Are there people around you who try to pull you away from living for God? Are there people who try to involve you in their own sinful behaviours? Are there people who genuinely like you or love you, but are jealous of the fact that God owns your heart and guides your life? Are there people who get offended that you don’t join with them in things that you know God disapproves of?

1 Peter 4:1-5

So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning. ² And you won’t spend the rest of your life chasing after evil desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. ³ You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.

⁴ Of course, your former friends are very surprised when you no longer join them in the wicked things they do, and they say evil things about you. ⁵ But just remember that they will have to face God, who will judge everyone, both the living and the dead.

For many of us, learning to not be controlled by what other people might think of us and say about us is a difficult journey to take. We all want to be accepted. We want to be respected and approved of. We want to be treated fairly. We want to be spoken about truthfully.

The reality is that if we live for God there are going to be times when we are rejected. There will be times when we are despised. There will be times when we will be lied about. There are going to be times when people will want to hurt us. This isn’t because the people who do these things are horrible monsters, it’s just that we can’t give them what they want, and so they get hurt and angry. Potiphar’s wife may have been a very nice person, but Joseph defied her authority and made her feel unattractive, humiliated, frustrated and perhaps even a little guilty. Of course she was going to lash out at him.

When we get treated badly, there are a couple of things that we need to keep in mind:

1) Like in the story of Joseph, we need to remember that God is always with us and has a good plan for our lives. Nothing anyone does is able to thwart the work of God in us and His plan for us, as long as we ourselves are keeping in step with Him. God’s approval of me is enough, I don’t need to chase anyone else’s approval. God’s presence in my life is enough, I don’t need to rely on anyone else or anything else.

2) There will be a time when God will judge everyone. If you are a child of God, that time brings no fear, just a joyful expectation of eternal happiness. Others do not have that hope, so instead of being concerned about whatever short-term pain they have inflicted on us – no matter how deep - maybe we should share God’s concern that they be prepared for that time of judgement. If they continue on their present course the expectation is fearful, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if they had a change of heart before then and came to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour? Instead of dwelling on how to get even or brooding over the pain they have caused us, let’s focus on their salvation. After all, are we any different without the grace of God in our lives?

When we live wholeheartedly for God, we will experience these sorts of responses in the people around us. Often because of our fear of the second type of response, we put on our camouflage gear and we try to look as much like citizens of this world as we can while being as true to the kingdom of God as we can. We avoid as many potential conflicts as we can.

Instead of being Christians in Camouflage, let’s determine in our hearts to be Salt and Light? Let’s not put any barriers in people’s way, but let’s not hide our different-ness either. Let’s live rightly and boldly in the place God has put us.